Matt Reeves

After having directed the "Godzilla"-for-the-Twitter-generation known as "Cloverfield," Matt Reeves was in meetings in early 2008 trying to set up a small drama he had written. An executive at Overture Films asked him to take a look at a then-unreleased Swedish horror film, "Let the Right One In," a hauntingly touching film about a lonely 12-year-old boy who realizes the kind girl who moved in next door is a vampire. "I was just hooked," Reeves recalled recently.

Make a list of those who've had a hand in the entertainment world's vampire vogue and you'll probably put Tomas Alfredson near the top. The Swedish filmmaker directed "Let the Right One In," the 2008 hit about a relationship between a bullied boy and the young-looking vampire Eli that turned even skeptics into believers. Yet ask the 46-year-old about his influence on, or interest in, the bloodsucker bonanza and you'll get a shrug. "I haven't really seen any vampire movies, except maybe a few Bela Lugosi movies when I was a kid," Alfredson said.

In remaking the Swedish vampire cult hit " Let the Right One In," Matt Reeves put himself in a position as fraught as Dracula at high noon. Most people had never heard of the source material. And some of those who had ? and could help him spread positive word ? just wished the project would go away. Why attempt an English-language do-over, they asked, of a recent movie that was pretty much perfect in the first place? "I started writing the script for 'Let Me In,' and then 'Let the Right One In' got big in the U.S. I thought, 'Oh no, there's going to be a lot more focus on this now,' " said Reeves, the "Cloverfield" director and J.J. Abrams protégé who scripted and directed the new movie, which stars Chloe Moretz, Kodi Smit-McPhee and Richard Jenkins.

UNDERRATED David Chang : Up to now the arc of a celebrity chef peaked at cookbooks and circling the kitchens of the world on basic cable, but the man behind the delicious Momofuku empire in New York is breaking the mold. This month "Lucky Peach" launches, a quarterly food writing journal in partnership with McSweeney's that features recipes, off-kilter essays and fetishistically sharp design consistent with the publisher's track record. Tasty. 'Let Me In' (2010) : Based on box office numbers, horror fans were skeptical about this reworking of the subtly haunting Swedish import "Let the Right One In. " Yet apart from a few moves that ramped up the gore, the American translation retained the original's unsettling core, thanks in part to Chloe Moretz's chilling child vampire and director Matt Reeves' understatedly assured hand.

It's an uncomfortable position for any filmmaker to be in — having to defend your new movie against angry attacks while you're still making it. The director in the crosshairs is Matt Reeves and the movie in question is "Let Me In," the American remake of the Scandinavian art-house hit "Let the Right One In." Seen by many fans as something of an antidote to the broader passions of the "Twilight" series, the original 2008 film is a delicately told preteen horror-romance revolving around a lonely 12-year-old boy who discovers that the sweet, shy girl next door he has become smitten with is also a vampire.

UNDERRATED David Chang : Up to now the arc of a celebrity chef peaked at cookbooks and circling the kitchens of the world on basic cable, but the man behind the delicious Momofuku empire in New York is breaking the mold. This month "Lucky Peach" launches, a quarterly food writing journal in partnership with McSweeney's that features recipes, off-kilter essays and fetishistically sharp design consistent with the publisher's track record. Tasty. 'Let Me In' (2010) : Based on box office numbers, horror fans were skeptical about this reworking of the subtly haunting Swedish import "Let the Right One In. " Yet apart from a few moves that ramped up the gore, the American translation retained the original's unsettling core, thanks in part to Chloe Moretz's chilling child vampire and director Matt Reeves' understatedly assured hand.

"Let Me In" began the long, Scandinavian road to fan acceptance Saturday, as Overture Films, director Matt Reeves and the cast went in front of the Comic-Con faithful to plead their case. Director Reeves, evincing the look of a Silicon Valley programmer and the speaking style of a professor, acknowledged right off the bat that he was facing an uphill climb. "A lot of people are worried," he said. "I love that movie. The thing is, that movie will exist.... This is another interpretation that I hope you'll love."

Make a list of those who've had a hand in the entertainment world's vampire vogue and you'll probably put Tomas Alfredson near the top. The Swedish filmmaker directed "Let the Right One In," the 2008 hit about a relationship between a bullied boy and the young-looking vampire Eli that turned even skeptics into believers. Yet ask the 46-year-old about his influence on, or interest in, the bloodsucker bonanza and you'll get a shrug. "I haven't really seen any vampire movies, except maybe a few Bela Lugosi movies when I was a kid," Alfredson said.

Even though he decided to tackle the English-language remake of "Let the Right One In" long before the Swedish vampire movie became a cult favorite in the U.S., Matt Reeves was aware of the hurdle facing him. "It suddenly got very big, and I thought, 'There's going to be a lot more focus.' It was terrifying. " As it turned out, Reeves rose to the challenge. Resisting the temptation to overly Americanize the dark preadolescent romance, Reeves kept the two protagonists' ages roughly the same as in Tomas Alfredson's original and retained a Gothic, snowy locale.

Ilona C. Reeves, 87, a longtime resident of Santa Paula, died Monday at St. John's Pleasant Valley Hospital in Camarillo of a stroke. Reeves was born Aug. 21, 1909, in Wellington, Texas, and came to Santa Paula 53 years ago. "She spent all her time at the Westside Baptist Church," said her son, Jim Reeves of Santa Paula. "She was involved in all their activities when they called on her." She was a homemaker her entire life.

In remaking the Swedish vampire cult hit " Let the Right One In," Matt Reeves put himself in a position as fraught as Dracula at high noon. Most people had never heard of the source material. And some of those who had ? and could help him spread positive word ? just wished the project would go away. Why attempt an English-language do-over, they asked, of a recent movie that was pretty much perfect in the first place? "I started writing the script for 'Let Me In,' and then 'Let the Right One In' got big in the U.S. I thought, 'Oh no, there's going to be a lot more focus on this now,' " said Reeves, the "Cloverfield" director and J.J. Abrams protégé who scripted and directed the new movie, which stars Chloe Moretz, Kodi Smit-McPhee and Richard Jenkins.

Even though he decided to tackle the English-language remake of "Let the Right One In" long before the Swedish vampire movie became a cult favorite in the U.S., Matt Reeves was aware of the hurdle facing him. "It suddenly got very big, and I thought, 'There's going to be a lot more focus.' It was terrifying. " As it turned out, Reeves rose to the challenge. Resisting the temptation to overly Americanize the dark preadolescent romance, Reeves kept the two protagonists' ages roughly the same as in Tomas Alfredson's original and retained a Gothic, snowy locale.

"Let Me In" began the long, Scandinavian road to fan acceptance Saturday, as Overture Films, director Matt Reeves and the cast went in front of the Comic-Con faithful to plead their case. Director Reeves, evincing the look of a Silicon Valley programmer and the speaking style of a professor, acknowledged right off the bat that he was facing an uphill climb. "A lot of people are worried," he said. "I love that movie. The thing is, that movie will exist.... This is another interpretation that I hope you'll love."

It's an uncomfortable position for any filmmaker to be in — having to defend your new movie against angry attacks while you're still making it. The director in the crosshairs is Matt Reeves and the movie in question is "Let Me In," the American remake of the Scandinavian art-house hit "Let the Right One In." Seen by many fans as something of an antidote to the broader passions of the "Twilight" series, the original 2008 film is a delicately told preteen horror-romance revolving around a lonely 12-year-old boy who discovers that the sweet, shy girl next door he has become smitten with is also a vampire.

After having directed the "Godzilla"-for-the-Twitter-generation known as "Cloverfield," Matt Reeves was in meetings in early 2008 trying to set up a small drama he had written. An executive at Overture Films asked him to take a look at a then-unreleased Swedish horror film, "Let the Right One In," a hauntingly touching film about a lonely 12-year-old boy who realizes the kind girl who moved in next door is a vampire. "I was just hooked," Reeves recalled recently.

Miguel Hernandez scored four goals to help Santa Ana Valley to a 9-5 victory Saturday over Bellflower St. John Bosco for the championship of the Orange boys' water polo tournament. Victor Oregon added three goals for the Falcons, who advanced to the final with an 18-0 victory over Loara. Hernandez, who was named the tournament's most valuable player, had six goals in the semifinal victory. St. John Bosco moved into the final with a 10-9 victory over Garden Grove.

The Scene: Plenty of "Friends" and other friends were among the 700 or so people who showed up at the Directors Guild on Thursday night for the premiere of "The Pallbearer," a dark but sugary romantic comedy starring the "Friends" TV series' cute nice guy David Schwimmer in his first feature film lead role--where he coincidentally plays a cute nice guy who is mired in perpetual adolescence.